About Cyrc Design
Cyrc.
CIRCULAR DESIGN
Nearly every object in modern life has an obfuscated wake of destruction behind it. Where it came from and how it was made - there are many details we are prevented from knowing. And then, when you're done with the object, there’s an unknowable future. Where does it go when it is discarded? Recycled? Burned? Landfilled? Often, we do not, and cannot, know.
Cyrc is an answer to this problem - providing objects which come with knowledge about how they are made, and a plan for having them unmade. The hope with Cyrc is to make products that make it easier for you to be a consumer living by your principles.
True sustainability takes responsibility for the whole life cycle.
Recycling rates for plastics are as low as 9%, and furniture is near 0%. This is why Cyrc's products come back to them at the end of their use.
Cyrc ensures the materials never become waste entering landfills or the natural environment.
MATERIALS
Humanity has made more than enough plastic already (8.3 Billion metric tons) and global production is increasing (368 million metric tons was produced in 2019 alone). It’s a lot. Too much. Half of it was only used once, for less than a year.
Cyrc only uses recycled plastic. The more recycled material they use, the more they support circular material economies and that is imperative to our survival on this finite planet.
Recycled PLA
Our rPLA, supplied by Reflow, is recycled from post-industrial food packaging waste sourced from the Benelux region.
PLA is a bioderived material made from fermented plant starch such as corn, cassava, and sugarcane. Although its source is technically renewable, the industrial agriculture it comes from has a heavy carbon footprint. This is why we use recycled PLA. It’s also somewhat misleadingly characterized as biodegradable. Although it can be broken down at the end of life, it does not naturally decompose at speed without industrial composting assistance. PLA is greener than traditional plastics, but its fate as waste, and the damage it can cause, is the same as any other plastic. PLA is a valuable material that should be kept in a circular loop for as long as possible.
Recycled PETG
Our rPETG, supplied by Reflow, is recycled from post-industrial medical tray waste from Flevoland, Netherlands.
We know PET all too well. It's what most plastic bottles and synthetic garments are made from. As a popular plastic for single-use goods, its ubiquity as garbage across the planet is now widely seen as a catastrophe. It’s derived from petroleum and with FDA approval for over 30 years, it’s widely considered non-toxic. It’s one of the most durable and easily recycled polymers. We look forward to keeping this wonder material in a circular loop and studying its lifecycle over multiple production cycles.
Secondary Materials
We always design with ease of recycling in-mind. Using a single material in furniture is ideal, but it can’t always be the case. From table tops to textiles, we’ll use materials from the most sustainable sources we can find.
We are as tired of vague sustainability claims as you are. We promise to be transparent about all the materials and components used in every product. Explicitly revealing where they are from and how we will handle them later.
THE FOUNDERS
Guy Snover
Co-Founder, Product design and manufacturing
Guy is an industrial designer and engineer. He has years of
experience with additive manufacturing and leveraging
computational design to create beautiful pieces tailored
for that technology. Between his hardware experience and
his design skills; Guy is an expert in 3D printing and
equipped to achieve any project in that area. He's
passionate about building a company that places the good
of the environment and people as an incontrovertible
foundation.
